Pocket Guide to Pressure Ulcers Updated With MDS 3.0 Information

The Pocket Guide to Pressure Ulcers, a bedside resource used by more than 20,000 caregivers nationwide, has been updated with information on MDS 3.0 requirements from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.

The Pocket Guide is a convenient reference tool that helps caregivers identify, stage and document pressure ulcers. First published in March 2010, the guide has now entered a second printing, with authors Dr. Elizabeth Ayello and Dr. Jeffrey Levine providing four new pages detailing MDS 3.0 documentation requirements.

"The new MDS 3.0 requirements took effect Oct. 1, and they are changing how wounds are tracked and recorded in Medicare-certified nursing homes across the country," says Dr. Levine, MD, AGSF, CMD, a geriatrician at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine and Beth Israel Medical Center in New York and a longtime author and lecturer on pressure ulcers. "Nursing home professionals must be up to date on the new requirements for accurate documentation."

Proper documentation under MDS 3.0 is an imperative for nursing homes, says Dr. Ayello, PhD, RN, MAPWCA, FAAN, a faculty member at the Excelsior College School of Nursing, co-director of the International Interdisciplinary Wound Care Course at the University of Toronto and a past president of the National Pressure Ulcer Advisory Panel.

"Skin assessment under MDS 3.0 has now been brought more closely into line with currently recommended standards and guidelines," says Ayello. "The net result is an assessment tool that is clinically relevant and more in keeping with meeting the needs of the resident. But first our bedside caregivers need to be aware of how to work accurately within the MDS 3.0 framework."

The Pocket Guide to Pressure Ulcers is published by Healthcare Business Solutions in conjunction with the New Jersey Hospital Association. NJHA's Institute for Quality and Patient Safety has become an industry leader in pressure ulcer quality improvement efforts. Its Pressure Ulcer Collaborative received both national and international recognition for its success. After two years of applying shared practices and preventive techniques, the 150 healthcare facilities that participated in the collaborative realized a 70 percent reduction in the incidence of new pressure ulcers.

Many healthcare facilities and provider organizations have equipped their staffs with the Pocket Guide. "I ordered this pocket guide for every licensed staff member in all five of the facilities that I oversee," says Donna Ricchezza, vice president of clinical operations for Geri Care. "Licensed staff carry their own guide during their respective shift; a Pocket Guide is readily available on each treatment cart. This guide has been referenced for educational training sessions for the licensed staff and CNAs. The information provided is easy to read and understand. The diagrams and pictures enforce the written descriptions, and the most important factor is that the guide starts with the 'ASPECTS of pressure ulcer prevention' because prevention is quality of care!"

Individual clinicians may purchase a personal copy of the Pocket Guide, or organizations can purchase multiple quantities at discounted rates. Visit www.nopressureulcers.com for more information.